This invention relates to disposable body fluid absorbent wearing articles including disposable diapers as a specific embodiment.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1995-112003A discloses a disposable absorbent pad basically comprising a pad itself and a waist-band. More specifically, this absorbent pad comprises a liquid-pervious topsheet, a liquid-impervious backsheet and a liquid-absorbent core disposed between these two sheets. The waist-band is connected to longitudinal ends of respective end flaps extending outward from longitudinally opposite end regions of the core. The absorbent pad has a pair of side flaps transversely extending the pad and being stretchable in a longitudinal direction thereof and these side flaps are at least partially folded in the longitudinal direction back onto an inner surface of the absorbent pad. The pad itself comes in close contact with inner sides of the wearer""s thighs as this absorbent pad is worn with the elastic waist-band pressed against the wearer""s waist.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1995-155344A discloses disposable pants basically comprising an elastic pants member and a pad member. More specifically, the pad member comprises a liquid-pervious topsheet, a liquid-impervious backsheet and a liquid-absorbent core disposed between these two sheets wherein a pair of end flaps and a pair of side flaps extending outward from longitudinally opposite end regions and transversely opposite side edge regions of the core, respectively. Longitudinal ends of the respective end flaps are fixed to the pants member in the vicinity of its waist-line. The side flaps are longitudinally stretchable and define pockets opening inwardly of the pad member. The pad member comes in close contact with inner sides of the wearer""s thighs as the pants member is worn.
The body fluid absorbent pads such as the pad itself and the pad member as disclosed in the above-cited Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. 1995-112003A and 1995-155344A, respectively, intend to bring them in close contact with the inner sides of the wearer""s thighs. To achieve this, a width of the pad in its crotch region is strictly limited, so surface area as well as volume of the pad used to absorb body fluids is strictly limited and it is sometimes difficult for these absorbent pads of prior art to absorb body fluids rapidly.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved disposable body fluid absorbent wearing article so that body fluids can be rapidly absorbed in spite of a restricted width of the body fluid absorbent pad in its crotch region.
According to this invention, there is provided a disposable body fluid absorbent wearing article comprising a body fluid absorbent pad which includes a body fluid absorbent core and a liquid-pervious topsheet covering an upper surface of the core, the pad having a front waist region, a rear waist region and a crotch region extending between these waist regions wherein at least the front and rear waist regions of the three regions are integral with means used to put the article on a wearer""s body.
The pad is provided along its transversely opposite sides in its crotch region with a pair of transversely opposite darts formed by partially joining at least the topsheet. The pad is composed, in its transverse direction, of an inner core lying between the pair of darts, and outer cores lying outside the respective darts, constituting together the core. The core has its outer periphery surrounded by end and side flaps formed by at least the topsheet.
In one preferred embodiment of this invention, the pair of darts may curve toward a center line bisecting a width of the pad and delineate circular arcs, and the side flaps extending outward beyond transversely opposite side edges of the core are folded back toward the inner surface of the pad and joined at front and rear end portions of the side flaps to the inner surface so that a pair of pockets opening inwardly of the pad may be formed between the side flaps and the outer cores, respectively, and the side flaps are provided along the folded inner side edge portions with elastic members joined under extension thereto in parallel to the center line.